Halo: Pentagon
by Austin3301
Summary: This is the story of Reach and his team: Pentagon and their missions from planet to planet battling the Covenant.


**Halo**

**Chapter I – To Kingdom Come**

My name is Reach-135. I was born on Earth at July 28, 2515. I didn't remember my former life as do all the other SPARTANS. What I only remembered from my childhood was that I didn't have a name in the first place and so I was named Reach. Named after the planet where I grew up from.

I was a shy kid on the early days, quiet and mysterious. I bumped into one of my future friends: Linda-058. She was this kid who was entirely independent. She declined every offer of help from every Spartan. She was the best shot with every firearm most notably with the sniper rifle. She gets in a trance when she uses it so she scares me… a little. Although seemingly cold, she's actually friendly but not the one for words. After the augmentation procedures, we went our separate ways. I was assigned to my own team: the Pentagon and she was assigned to Blue Team. After that we just got distant but we didn't forget each other since we were friends. Erm, continue on.

I could only describe myself as: pale and have white hair, even if I'm only in my mid-twenties. The doctor said that was a consequence for my prolonged time in my armor.

I couldn't tell you what my attitude is. My team says I'm not the usual "by-the-book" soldier. They say my foremost objective in every mission is to keep all teammates and civilians alive. Guess I'm special to others, eh?

Let me introduce you to Pentagon, my team: Polo-205, the silent but wise-cracking scout and sniper; Marvin-125, the rifleman and medic of the team. Also the all-rounder of the squad; Ellie-102, the heavy weapons expert and the peacekeeper and voice of reason of the team whenever I'm not around; Isaac-135, the engineer and is also the demolitions and saboteur of the team. Always speaks his mind and always finds another way around. We can do almost everything with the whole team. If at least one of us isn't present, we can't do everything. That's mainly the pro and con of the team.

We were stationed in the snow-covered planet Claus at September 12, 2552; A month after the Fall of Reach. The Covenant are currently attacking city by city. The first and only city to fall yet was Westrand

"Team, we've got a mission." I said

"What?" asked Polo

"He said we've got a mission." Repeated Isaac

"I know that. I'm asking what the mission is."

"Well, we've got two missions: Both are on the same place. The first mission is to escort a medic and an excavation team to Odyssey Stadium to help Solstice and the other mission is to destroy a Covenant Battlecruiser stationed near the place."

"We're on the other side of the planet. Shouldn't they dispatch another team nearer to the ship than us?" asked Ellie

"The other teams were dispatched to do other missions Ellie," I replied "We're the only free team left."

"What happened to Solstice?" asked Marvin

"Solstice was last seen bombing the Stadium when the Covenant got crowded in." I replied "There've been rumors that they're KIA but Command says so otherwise so we're going to try and find out."

"Let's hope we do."

"So let's go now. If we stay here any longer, they might have a chance of being killed." I said

"Wait…" interrupted Marvin "Shouldn't we use the Hornets for this stuff?"

"No, we can't. Once we get airborne, the Covenant will surely see us in their radar. Do you want to get there fast while being chased by a fleet of Covenant or take the slow ride down to the stadium?"

"Uh, I think I'll take the latter on this one."

"Good. Now let's get going."

My team and I saddled up in our vehicles: I'm the passenger of the warthog, Marvin's the driver and Polo uses the turret. Our scorpion was driven by Ellie and the turret was used by Isaac. We then set out to the other side of the planet.

**EMERGENCY BROADCAST: "SOLSTICE": PLAY**

"We are under fire, Command and one of our squad's wounded and he's on the other side of the Stadium!" screamed the leader of Solstice

"Ma'am, we need to blow this place up!" said on of her squad mate

"No, Gordon!" replied the leader "We are not leaving Carmine there to die!"

"He's gonna die otherwise!" argued the trooper "He's already surrounded by them!"

"You two can argue all you want but you better do it fast! But we're running out of ammo!" said another trooper

"Ma'am, there's no one on the other side that can help him." Said the second-in-command then put his hand on her shoulder and in retaliation, the leader shrugs off the hand then took out her radio.

"Carmine. Carmine, are you there?" she asked

"Yeah. No more bullets left. You should boom this thing, Mary."

"No, I won't! Look, there's a charge planted in the corridor. If you could relocate the charge, you might have a chance left."

"Okay, I found it! But where do I put it?"

"Anywhere near the center of the Stadium, how about the entrance towards the field?"

"It's not blocked, so sure. Gimme' a second." Said Carmine

After a few minutes…

"Mary, the charge's set. Blow it up."

"Wait, are you anywhere near the charges?" asked Mary

"No. I'm going to try to go deeper into the corridors. That's my safest bet."

"Good luck, Carmine."

"Hey, you too." He replied "Carmine out."

Mary then sighed in relief "Okay, Dexter blow it up!"

"Finally!" Dexter said in delight as he and his other squad mates retreat outside the Stadium.

**EMERGENCY BROADCAST: "SOLSTICE": END**

"Their efforts are futile, sir." Said an ultra

"Indeed. But I am intrigued by their effort to save their comrade." Said the General

"Yes. They do. Do you think that they really can save their comrade, sir?"

"Yes. And we will not intervene. Command the others inside the location to retreat. Quickly! We only have a few minutes before they reach their destination."

"Yes, sir." Replied the ultra then left

'Those humans are very… interesting.' thought the General out loud 'they never back down if one of them is in danger. Maybe the humans are as valiant and brave as we are.'

**Meanwhile… inside the station**

"Ma'am, they're retreating." Said Dexter

"What?"

"It's true, look: there's the phantom landing." Said Gordon then suddenly pointed out the phantom in the skylight.

"Damn it! Let's get to that detonator ASAP!" screamed Mary as they ran at a faster pace

After a few minutes of running, they finally reached the detonator by then, three phantoms were still inside.

"Here goes nothing!" said Dexter then pushed down the detonator

The explosion was savage, charge after charge were blowing up with large mushroom clouds on the aftermath and spewed out some rubble and dust and concrete. Once the explosions had stopped, they saw only the rubble-coated field. Mary reached for her radio

"Command, we have completed the mission. We request for a medic and an excavation team, over."

"Come again, Solstice? What do you need an excavation team for?"

"We need them to find a lost squad member."

"He could be-"

"I know! Even if you find him dead, he might as well be buried in a graveyard, not in rubble!" interrupted Mary

"All right all right, sheesh. Medic and Excavation team dispatched, over."

"Thank you."

"Though air transportation is currently unavailable and will be transported via warthog. E.T.A.: possible fifteen hours."

"Could you make it quicker?"

"Using a mongoose will make the trip extremely risky, Solstice. You sure you want to do this?"

"No! Just get here quick."

"Affirmative. Also Solstice, there will be a SPARTAN deployment coming as an escort for the team. Advise that you help them destroy the battlecruiser five kilometers away northeast of the stadium."

"What?"

"Command out."

**Somewhere in Claus…**

"Only eight hours has passed since this trip started, Pentagon. You just wait." I said to my team

"Wraith at 10!" screamed Polo

"Ellie, get that wraith!"

"On it!" replied Ellie then shot the Wraith with a well-placed shell into the cockpit and exploded along with the Wraith

"Um, sir?" asked Isaac

"Yeah, what is it?"

"My radar's picking up very tiny blue dots forming above us. I think there's a hailstorm coming our way, sir."

"Ah, damn it! Quick, everyone! Get under cover! We have a hailstorm coming." I screamed

We all cleared out. Some of us got into some caves; some were just taking the beating of the hail. We can't move the hog so we had to bail out and find us some cover. SPARTAN armor's not for weather. It's for combat.

We endured the storm for which took almost three hours to clear off. The hog was full of hail. We took out most of them, but the windshield's busted so we made a hole in it: a big hole. The tank was fine with only a few scrapes, the Transport Hog got under cover before the storm hit, so we're pretty lucky... or they were.

"All right, Team. We need to escort these people to the Odyssey ASAP." I said "No more breaks or stops, there's a team out there that needs us."

"Move it, people!" screamed Polo

We got back up in our seats and continued our trip to Odyssey Station. Only ten miles left…

During the trip, our hog was destroyed by a Banshee which was destroyed by Isaac. He's pretty damn accurate with that turret. We had to ride on our tank since I said before, the warthog's busted. No way to repair it.

It was nighttime when we got there. Dust was overpopulated; the snow was covered with black powder. Solstice was nowhere to be found and the Odyssey stadium was only a pile of rubbles. The only structure left standing was the other side of the Stadium. I ordered the transport to wait while we check out the area.

"Put on your headlights, people. Solstice may not know we're here." I said

We searched every pile of rubble outside the ruins. Still they're not there.

"Sir," said Marvin "maybe we should search inside the Stadium?"

"Okay," I agreed "They said there was someone here that was trapped. Look at the other side of the Stadium. They may be there."

I sent Polo and Marvin to the other side while the rest make battle plans for destroying the cruiser.

"We need to hijack at least three banshees or a phantom." I said "I can't see anything on the air."

"We could attract attention." Suggested Isaac

"Nah, too risky. Besides, we need those vehicles undamaged." Said Ellie

"You do know I could repair those things?"

"We do." said Ellie "And repairing those things could take hours, so we're not doing that."

"Well then. If you don't like my plan, I guess we really should do the… attraction plan." Said Isaac

Suddenly, Marvin returned

"Where's Polo?" I asked

"We found Solstice, but they're heavily wounded."

"Okay, let's go there, quick." I said then radioed the escort "Transport, go to the other side of the Stadium. Solstice is waiting there."

"Roger."

When we got there, the whole team was lying on the ground. Their eyes closed but their hearts beating. When they heard the sound of tires, the woman opened her eyes and sat up.

"What took you so long?" asked her

"We were interrupted by numerous Covenant, soldier." I replied "We came here as fast as we could."

"Well, get on with it!" she said "Carmine's trapped under that pile. He's okay, but his foot's stuck on some rubble but he can barely move it."

"Okay excavation, you know what to do." I said turning my attention to the Excavation team "Anything else?" I asked her

"Dexter's got a concussion and Mike's having trouble with his cut." She replied

"What about you soldier?" I asked

"I'm fine! Just a little tired, that's all."

"Get some rest. You and your team are not done yet."

"We know," she replied

I checked out the temperature: 9 degrees Fahrenheit. It's cold. I looked at Solstice team. They all are wearing full armor except for the woman.

I took off my helmet and threw it to the woman. She looked at my helmet and grabbed it.

"What's this for?" she asked

"It's for your head." I replied "It's freezing out here, wear it."

"I don't need it." She said

"I insist soldier," I said as I knelt next to her "or you're going to catch a cold."

"My name's not "Soldier". It's Mary, and I don't care if I catch a cold, I only care if I could sleep tonight!"

"I'll let you sleep if put that helmet on."

"Fine! I'll put this helmet on!" she said as she put the helmet on "Now, will you please leave me to sleep?"

"Yes I will," I said "Mary." I stood up then walked to the rubble of their trapped team mate.

When I got there, he was awake but moaning. Marvin, along with the medic, put him in a stretcher and checked his vitals. I then walked ahead to check out the battlecruiser.

On the way there, I saw Polo had taken a detour. I saw that he was on the other side of the battle cruiser and had taken five elites with his knife.

"What are you doing?" I asked

"Infiltrating the cruiser." Replied Polo "What did you think I was doing?"

"Hide those bodies and get out of there, Polo. We're doing it in daylight."

"We could just do it right now, sir. We don't know when they'll take off."

"Okay, fine." I said "I'll contact the others and-."

"You don't need to, sir." He said "They're already here." He came out of cover and the others followed

"I'm reprimanding all of you for not consulting me." I said feeling a little annoyed

"Marvin's not coming and so is Isaac." Said Ellie "Marvin stayed at the medic's request and Isaac said he needs to fix the Scorpion and the Transport."

"I don't blame them." Said Polo

"Let's get this over with." I said "Ellie, you've got the charges?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let's go." I said and ran towards the cruiser.

Inside, the Covenant were nowhere to be found. Pods are empty and the lights are flickering. No signs of a battle, no bodies, no blood and no scorches of any kind.

"Are you sure you haven't gone inside yet?" I asked

"A hundred percent sure, sir." Replied Polo "But I'm sure you want to ask: what happened here?"

"Yeah," agreed Ellie "what did happen here?"

"Let's get to the cockpit and find out what happened." I suggested and me, Ellie and Polo walked cautiously with vigilant eyes and steady guns towards the cockpit passing corridors dimly lit or no light at all. Still we saw no signs of any battle that occurred.

When we got to the cockpit, we were altogether shocked, speechless and wide-eyed. The battle must've been devastating. Blood was splattered al over the room. On the left side of the cockpit, dead elites were lying on the ground holding their weapons. On the right side were other covenant species: the brutes, grunts and jackals all of them lying on the ground, dead. All of them, dead.

"Command, this is First Pentagon, we have reports of a Covenant battle inside the cruiser." I said

"More like a civil war." Said Ellie

"It seems that the Elites don't get along well with the others." I said, returning my attention to Command "I'm sending a visual now."

"Reach, this is Halsey."

"Ma'am," I said "I missed you when you were dead."

"I'll kill you if you're here but unfortunately, you're not." Replied Halsey "Anyway, I'm in CASTLE. How's your team?"

"They're fine, ma'am. No one's lacking in anything. Ma'am, let's talk later. We're busy." I said then turned my attention to Ellie and Polo "Set up the charges. Find vital points."

"I'm busy here too Reach," Replied Halsey "I'm just trying to have some conversation with you."

"Oh I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't know." I said feeling a little ashamed

"Don't be. Good luck on your mission, Reach and take care of your team."

"I will." I said then went outside.

I was in a corridor on my way outside when I heard sounds from the corridor. I hid in a hidden dark hole just to the side of the corridor. I took a peek and saw two elites: a normal one and the other one was a large one with silver-colored armor.

"The demons are not to escape the ship," Said the elite clad in an engraved silver armor "They must be taken alive and interrogated."

"Yes, Arbiter." Said another elite then ran towards the cockpit who was followed by at least a couple dozen other elites. For fear of having my team in danger, I reached for my com

"Ellie, Polo. Hide!" I ordered "There's a team of Elites coming your way."

"We'll take care of them." Said Polo

"About a couple dozen will get there!" I said "Do you want to battle twenty-four Elites?"

"Yeah." Replied Polo

"Just hide!" I insisted then stood up and appeared to the 'Arbiter' whatever that means who has his back turned on me.

"Are you ready to die, demon?" he asked.

"Not yet." I replied "How about you?"

"Likewise." He said then took out his energy swords and ignited it.

"Cool blades, dude." I said "Mind if I check it out?"

"See for yourself." Replied the Elite then lunged his swords towards my head. I ducked just in time to grab his wrist and snapped it. He dropped the sword and grunted in reply. "Your strength is raw, demon." He said then he snapped his broken wrist back to full function "But it is not raw enough." He said t hen lunged at me with the other sword. I grabbed for the dropped energy sword and in a split-second, I parried the lunge. Before he could recover, I took out my knife and stabbed him on the mouth.

"Sir, we have eliminated the hostiles." Said Polo on the com

"It seems that they all were just minors." Added Ellie

"Good work, you two now let's get out of here."

"But sir, what did you do?" asked Polo

"I… killed their leader." I replied "He was easy to kill. Luck, an energy sword and a knife are all you need to kill one. You'll see the corpse on your way out."

"How will we know it's him?" asked Ellie

"Ellie, there are hundreds of bodies on that cruiser. Most of them are on the cockpit and one is on a corridor near the exit."

"Should've said he's near the exit." Said Ellie

"Hey, I like to make my sentences longer." I replied

I got out of the cruiser and contacted the others on the Odyssey

"Pentagon and the rest, mission's complete. You can all go home, now." I said then waited for Polo and Ellie. When they got out, their armor is stained with violet blood.

"You two knifed them all?" I asked

"Yes," Replied Ellie "Well we all did."

"Who are "we"?"

"We and the Elites;" Replied Polo "They were using energy daggers."

"Oh." I replied "Okay. We're wasting time, now. Are the charges set?" I asked then Ellie held up a detonator. "Blast em' all to kingdom come." I said then Ellie pressed the button.

The cruiser exploded. All charges were detonated simultaneously, creating a large mushroom cloud. But due to the cruiser having plasma on almost every part of it, the color of the mushroom cloud was purple.

"Good job, Pentagon." I said "Now let's get back to the Stadium."


End file.
